Research

Exploring the role of transactive memory systems in team decision-making
during ideation phase

Mohammad R. Dastmalchi, Bimal Balakrishnan, and Danielle Oprean (2021)

After generating ideas, design teams usually organize and narrow down their vision for a final product. The goal of this paper was to examine the role of communication modes and media on the process of selecting and eliminating ideas. By mapping the teams' proposed solutions and specifying the selected and eliminated ideas, we found ideas that were communicated through multiple channels were predictor of selected ideas. Additionally, using sketch to communicate an idea increased the likelihood of idea selection. More detailed findings are reported in the paper.

Accepted for the ICED21 23rd International Conference on Engineering Design

ENCORE Learning Lab
Science education based in sustainable architecture

ENCORE Learning Lab - Department of Learning, Teaching & CurriculumScience education based in sustainable architecture Welcome to the ENCORE learning lab where we teach science education through sustainable architecture across K-16 grades. We are an interdisciplinary team with leading experts in the areas of causal, model-based reasoning to develop youth ecological literacy (Zangori) and the development of youth green building literacy (Cole). In our […]

Can Climate-Adaptive Building Facades Inspire Healthier Interiors?

Post Covid-19 Computational Design Considerations

James Hopfenblatt, Mohammad R. Dastmalchi, Jayedi Aman, Jong Bum Kim, Bimal Balakrishnan

Creativity on the Move

Newton D'souza & Mohammad R. Dastmalchi (2016)

Conventional studies on design process consider creativity as one big ‘big event’ (the ‘aha’ moment) orchestrated by an individual designer. What is missed here is the contribution of smaller creative events (little-c(p)) that leads to the ‘big event’ (big-C (p)), and more importantly how they function within multi-disciplinary design teams. While smaller creative events don't necessarily ‘add up’ to the big creative leap, there are adequate points of alignment.

Media Affordances and Transactive Memory Systems in Design Teams

Mohammad R. Dastmalchi, et al. (2020)

Creative design teams are formed not only to design functional products but also to make them novel and innovative. To do so, usually design teams spend a considerable amount of time generating wide range of design solutions. However, sooner or later they must eliminate most of the proposed ideas and narrow down their vision for a final product. What are the things that affect these kinds of decisions? Previous studies have introduced Transactive Memory Systems (TMS) as one of the main constructs of team cognition. It is widely believed TMS can enhance team performance during the ideation phase. Our goal is to see if TMS play a role in decision making during the ideation phase. In this study, we examine the formation of TMS as a function of media affordances.

Comparison of Homogenous and Heterogenous Design Teams

This is an ongoing project. We are interested in how different design teams use different media, communication mode, and furniture throughout the design process.